Saturday Musings – When Life Gets Too Much

Have you ever found yourself overwhelmed by the number of things on your todo list or find yourself fighting battles on numerous fronts at once only to discover someone’s planted a knife in your back? If that’s you then keep on reading…..

Thankfully I didn’t have to pluck a metaphorical knife from my back but my todo list was ever expanding. I’m no stranger to working hard so naturally I convinced myself that working longer and more intensely was the solution…..boy was I wrong.

The interesting thing about my situation was that I was juggling way too many business opportunities, all the while ParkLogic was having one record month after another. So, I found myself working fifteen-hour days with a maximum of six hours sleep before hitting my desk once again. You can do this in the short-term but it wasn’t long before it started becoming the longer-term….which is never a good thing.

What did I do about the situation? I went away. Yep, I took off for a couple of nights into a beautiful spot in the country to do some heavy thinking. To be fair, my wife said, “You’re miserable, go and get your head right!”

My entire goal of being away from all the noise was to think about what was really important. I typically begin this process by dumping everything in my head into a Word document. I then begin to categorise them into work related, family and personal. That’s day one (there was a lot of things on the list).

I then spent a whole lot of time looking out the window at a magnificent view just thinking. I would add to my list anything that came to mind that wasn’t on it. This has the affect of calming down my racing thoughts and getting a sense of peace. For me, this is a really important state of mind as it helps set me up for the following day to make wiser decisions.

The next day I’m moving into decision making mode. This often involves a lot of saying “No” as opportunities are evaluated and set aside. It also provides me with a way to evaluate my entire life and focus on where I’m spending my time and get some balance back into it.

As I pondered, one of the words that I found kept on resonating within my head was to be deliberate with my time. Don’t just let things happen but decide that they will happen. For instance, if you don’t plan on building a great family then guess what, you probably won’t have one.

For a start, although I go to the gym each week, I really need to do a bit more exercise. From a practical perspective I’ve now scheduled time for such activities. I’ve also set aside time when I first get up to read and think……which may seem a waste of time but trust me when I say it’s not.

Allocating time for loved ones is another important part of my process. I was finding that it was easy to say I’ll catch-up with them next week and next week never seemed to arrive. So now I have deliberately set aside time for them.

On the business front, I’ve become pretty ruthless in determine what will have the biggest impact on the bottom line. There are always great opportunities, but which is the best opportunity? Although my decision process is fairly black and white it doesn’t mean I have to be rude to the “No” opportunities…..many of which may actually be a “not now”.

So, there you have it. I’ve rearranged a whole lot of things in my life to bring back enjoyment, reduce stress and be more affective with what will bring the best results. I would encourage you to take a look at your own life and maybe even get away for a couple of days to do some of your own serious thinking.

Have a great weekend!
Michael